1913 Thor U

My name is Paul Jacobson, originally from Farmington, NM and now residing in Chandler, AZ.  My first ownership of a motorcycle was a frozen, tie-wrapped, duct taped  ’72 Harley Rapido which I rebuilt more than once and used throughout my college days. Although this machine is retired now, mostly because my wife didn’t like acquiring the 2-stroke perfume as a passenger, it set in motion a continued need to ride motorcycles requiring rider maintenance along the way. When not working on my hobby of Motorcycles, I work as a Development Engineer for Intel Corporation which has given my family and I opportunities to work and live in many locations including NM, AZ, CA, NY, and China. Although we enjoyed travelling and the new experiences over the past 15+ years we are glad to be permanently settled now in AZ to focus on our kids growing up and restoring motorcycles in a more permanent setting.

For the Motorcycle Cannonball 2018 event, I will be riding my 1913 Thor Model U (Twin cylinder, single speed) which started as boxes of parts and required many hours of referencing/part reproduction as well as generous support/conversations with other Thor owners around the world. As is the case with all motorcycles in this great event, the Thor is a rare machine and has only had its limits pushed by a few folks in the last 100 years. Thor Losers in CB16 definitely pushed these limits which I plan to piggyback on and continue to improve/optimize while keeping as original as possible in the spirit of the event.

The support crew will include my father Dwight who will be piloting the support vehicle and wrenching across the country and folks joining various sections throughout including my former coworker/bike builder friend Clint out of PA, as well as a few of my late uncle Tony Bushard’s close motorcycle restoration friends (Tony and Doug out of NM). On top of being extremely excited for the opportunity to be part of this event for the first time, I will be raising money in my uncle’s name for the American Cancer Society through sales of some Thor specific shirts/posters. I am planning to donate 100% of the proceeds to this fund to help continue the research and progress needed toward finding cures.

I am looking forward to meeting new folks, enjoying the ride and challenges as we make our way across the Northern part of this awesome country.

Best Regards and see you in 2018,

Paul